A promise strengthened

Standing nearly 100 feet in the air on the top level of the new parking garage at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, the view spans from Mexico to the South Bay, to downtown San Diego and beyond — with Sharp Chula Vista in the forefront.

The hospital looks very different than it did when its doors first opened in 1975, when tomatoes grew in lush fields nearby and horses roamed the land.

Today, Sharp Chula Vista is a bustling medical center with more than 2,000 employees and 450 affiliated doctors who provide care at a 343-bed acute care hospital, a skilled nursing facility, the world-class Douglas & Nancy Barnhart Cancer Center, and soon, a new 197,000-square-foot, $244 million expansion, with sweeping views from every large, private patient room. Sharp and community leaders broke ground in November 2016.

The new hospital will allow for much-needed growth to continue serving the rapidly growing South County region of San Diego. The expansion will include all private patient rooms and six additional operating rooms. The operating rooms will include a hybrid room, combining elements of a traditional operating room and cardiac catheterization lab, eliminating the need to transfer patients to different parts of the hospital during surgery.

The expansion will also feature a striking two-story lobby with large windows to bring in natural light; soothing colors and amenities such as gardens and artwork; and a rooftop café with panoramic ocean and mountain views. A 718-space parking garage will provide parking for the additional patients and visitors.

“As Sharp Chula Vista celebrates more than 40 years of providing high-quality health care, I’m reminded of how deep our roots are in the South Bay,” says Dr. Velez. “When we opened in 1975, we made a promise to take care of the people of the South Bay; now, that promise is stronger than ever.”

For the news media: To talk with someone about the Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center expansion for an upcoming story, contact Laura Holloway, director of marketing and communications for Sharp Chula Vista, at laura.holloway@sharp.com.